A Different Prisoner
by The Weather Gal
Summary: AU. Now Sydney's a Prisoner at the CIA... how will her stay change her? Hints at SV
1. It's Always Quiet Before the Storm

Author's Notes: Well. the idea for this story came to me in a dream, so I'm taking it for a test spin. I have through half of chapter 4 written and expect long chapters. It starts of S/S, but it eventually will be S/V (I know, a shocker for me!). Anyway, it's a total AU and I hope you enjoy it. It you don't like the first chapter. stay tuned for the second. Reviews, please, I'd love to hear from you.  
  
Disclaimer: I am not the rightful owner of the characters of Alias and I don't plan of taking credit for them. They are owned by ABC and J.J. Abrams.  
  
Description: AU. What would have happened if Irina had taken Sydney with her when she was six? How is she a different prisoner? S/S, but will be S/V eventually (chapter 2/3)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
  
  
I woke up early that morning and felt Andrew's body intertwined with mine. His hands rested on my sides and I paused and observed the beauty of it all. Our relationship was hitting a peak and I knew he could ask me to marry him any day now.  
  
My mother was pleased when we first got together. She assumed that we would some day get married and run the organization together. She beamed at all the parties we held when we would waltz around together. We were her trophies.  
  
I could feel Andrew waking as well. Neither of us slept very late to begin with because of our busy schedules. Our morning ritual was always the same, get up, run 3 miles, shower, breakfast, work.  
  
"Morning, love," he says to me.  
  
I give him a short peck on the cheek, "Morning."  
  
"Excited for tonight?" he asks me, pulling me closer to his body.  
  
"Of course I am," I tell him. Tonight my mother was holding a small party for all the important employees and contributors to the organization. It was a yearly event and this year I had picked out the most wonderful dress.  
  
"Ready to run?" he asks me, slipping out of bed getting some jogging clothes on.  
  
"When aren't I ready to run?" I ask him, doing the same routine. We had both moved into a new house together once we had been dating for a year.  
  
  
  
Once we were both ready, we headed out and started the usual route. Andrew headed up the front and I took the back and we maintained a steady pace the entire time. It was our alone time, time to sort out our feelings and thoughts at the time.  
  
I always end up thinking about my father. I didn't know much about him, only what I had found in his file back at the organization. He was CIA and my mother had married him to get information from him. Once her assignment was up, she faked her death and mine as well because she knew I was destined for great things. Not the stupid CIA, that was for sure.  
  
I passed by the local school and it was barely light out, but I could see the swings and slides in full view. Hopefully, one day my children will play there. Every time I run by I can imagine a little girl and boy.  
  
I just remember what we had to deal with at the office today. Andrew and I had gone on a mission two days ago and had retrieved a major manuscript of Rambaldi's. It was a major score for our side. We had run into a few CIA agents, but they were nothing compared to us. Some people claimed we were the best in the business, ever. We were on the CIA and MI6 and every other intelligence agency's most wanted lists. However, they never could find us. We protected each other and never got caught.  
  
Every time I ran I took the time to reflect on the past and see into the future. I could only imagine what Andrew thought about, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were some of the same things. I still remember the day we met like it was yesterday.  
  
  
  
~~FLASHBACK, 2 YEARS AGO~~  
  
"Sydney," my mother says to me.  
  
"Yes, mother?" I reply.  
  
"There's someone I'd like you to meet," she says.  
  
"Alright," I say.  
  
He walks in, with his gorgeous blue eyes and blonde hair. I am taken aback for a second, but compose myself in order to properly introduce myself.  
  
"Hello, I'm Sydney," I say, introducing myself to mystery man.  
  
"Hello, I'm Mr. Sark," he says in an adorable British accent.  
  
"Sydney, Mr. Sark here will be your new partner," my mother adds.  
  
"I'm sure we'll be able to work well together," he adds.  
  
"Definitely," I add in.  
  
"Perfect," Irina says. "How about you two have lunch and we'll talk about your first mission later?"  
  
"Sounds great, Mother," I say to her.  
  
She leaves, and we both stand in an uncomfortable silence for a minute.  
  
"So, where would you like to have lunch?" I ask him.  
  
"You choose," he says quickly.  
  
"Alright, we'll go to the restaurant downstairs," I inform him.  
  
We start walking and he pulls his hand up to touch my shoulder and I felt a shockwave move down my body from his touch.  
  
"Wait," he says.  
  
"What is it?" I ask.  
  
"You can call me Andrew," he says.  
  
"Alright, I think I can do that," I reply, adding in, "Andrew."  
  
We both smile and head into the elevator. The main offices were located on the 5th floor and the restaurant was on the 2nd. We got off and as soon as the Host saw my arriving, he grabbed two menus and led us to my usual table I ate with my mother.  
  
"Will Ms. Derevko be joining you this afternoon?" he asks me.  
  
"No, but thank you," I say after sitting down.  
  
We get our food order and our drinks come and we get settled in to a pattern of small talk and conversation.  
  
"So, when did you begin to work for the organization?" he asks me.  
  
"My mother trained me when I was 15 and I've been doing working ever since," I inform him.  
  
"How old are you now?" he asks me.  
  
"Don't you know better than to research your friends and your enemies before you meet them?" I say, almost scolding him.  
  
He stands in awe for a second, but then replies, "Your mother never gave me your name."  
  
"Good, for now, I'm 22," I tell him.  
  
"Really?" he says to me.  
  
"I know, and you are as well," I tell him taking his reaction in to my knowledge of him.  
  
"What else do you know about me?" he asks me in his British voice.  
  
"You scored very well on all your entry level tests, higher than everyone, except me, and your originally from Liverpool, went to Oxford for a semester, and recruited from there," I inform him.  
  
"What I want to know is, why did you decide to join our organization?" I ask him.  
  
"Your mother is very convincing," he says to me.  
  
"She can be sometimes," I say and a grin reaches across my face.  
  
"Your very much like your mother," he states.  
  
"Oh really? What gave you that impression?" I ask him playfully.  
  
"Everything about you," he starts, answering seriously, "From your intelligence, to your absolute beauty."  
  
~~END FLASHBACK~~  
  
  
  
And that's when I knew it. From the first day we met, I knew that there was fate pulling us together. Our missions together were always wonderfully executed and always successful. We had never fulfilled our objective and always were on the winning side. We were the best partners ever known in the intelligence world.  
  
We both stopped at the usual park for stretching. I pulled down to stretch my calf and felt the cold air against my skin ever so presently. It was only 7 am and the dew was still present in the air and ground.  
  
As soon as we both were done with our usual routine, we jogged the short distance back to our house. I opened the door and felt the fresh spring air throughout the house.  
  
"You want to shower first, love?" he asks me, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me in for a kiss.  
  
"You like my stinky smell enough to kiss me?" I say to him playfully after we pull away.  
  
"I love any smell of yours," he tells me.  
  
"I love you," I can only reply, pulling back in for another kiss.  
  
"I love you too, now go shower and I'll make us breakfast," he tells me and I head to the bathroom and strip down.  
  
  
  
  
  
As soon as I came out of the bathroom, I could smell pancakes throughout the house. My favorite, hopefully with Blueberries. Of course they would be, he does everything to make me happy.  
  
"Hey," I say, walking up to him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I made your favorite," he says to me.  
  
"I could smell, even with blueberries?" I ask.  
  
"Of course, I wouldn't want to let the lady down, now, would I?" he says.  
  
"It smells great, now, you run along and shower, we don't want to be late with the meeting with my mother," I tell him, ushering him out of the room.  
  
I sat down with my pancakes and flipped through a few memos that my mother wanted me to be informed about before the meeting. New policy on this, a new office here, etc, etc. Nothing too interesting. Then, one at the bottom of the stack caught my eye. I pulled it out and it said "confidential" and "for top clearance only". The only people that could read this were my mother, Andrew, and myself. I flipped it open and it was the bio of an agent that we suspected of treason. That could be the reason for our meeting.  
  
When Andrew came out of the bathroom, I had the kitchen clean and it was 8:30. We had to be to headquarters by 9 and it was definitely a convertible day.  
  
"Want to take the Mercedes?" he asks me.  
  
"Definitely," I reply to him.  
  
"Let's go," Andrew says and we head out the side door to our four car garage. We had four cars, a Mercedes convertible, a Land Rover for the winter, a BMW for the fall, and an old Porsche for the occasional drive. My mother of course, gave us practically any money we wanted for ourselves. The organization had millions and we used a lot of them, that was for sure.  
  
  
  
**JACK POV**  
  
I could see them pulling out of their driveway. I was right, those stupid CIA fools. I had gained some information on where the infamous Sydney and Sark might live, but I had to see it for myself. The CIA wouldn't sanction it, so I went solo. My intel was correct. Now, I would hopefully find their beloved headquarters.  
  
I followed closely behind them, far enough behind that I don't they as experts could even see me tailing them. I knew Sydney would group up to work in Intelligence, I just imagined the CIA, not her wretched mother's organization. I'm not to sure what would happen if we were ever to meet. Chances were she would kill me on sight.  
  
I pulled back because it became clear to me they knew they were being followed. I was going to catch them, even if it was the death of me. I wanted to get back at that woman for doing all the wrong she has ever done.  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
"We're being followed," I tell him.  
  
"Alright, hold on," Andrew replies, quickly turning different directions, and in no time, loses the tail. I wonder who it was? Probably some one in stupid K-Directorate. They come sniffing around here every few months, but never have been successful. Within no time, we arrive at the building and head to the back parking entrance.  
  
We get out and quickly walk to the entrance of the building. We punch in our codes and the door opens quickly. We walk in briskly and everyone we pass is always taken back by our power in his or her presence. We head for the executive elevator and punch in the correct code again.  
  
Once we're in the elevator, we share a quick kiss for the day and get out once it reaches the fifth floor. Andrew heads to his office to get ready for the meeting and I head to mine. Once I walked in, I saw my assistant rise to her chair.  
  
"Hello, ma'am," she always greets me.  
  
"Good morning, Sarah," I reply back to her every morning.  
  
I walk behind my desk and Sarah follows me in to the second room.  
  
"Ma'am, your mother is dropping by before the meeting," she says.  
  
"Oh really?" I saw, perking up and continuing to go over some of the issues that were on my desk.  
  
"Good morning, Sydney," my mother says waltzing into my office. This is always Sarah's cue to leave, and she always does.  
  
I come out from behind my desk, and go over and give my mother a brief hug.  
  
"Good morning, mom," I respond.  
  
"Did you read the papers I gave you?" she asks.  
  
"If by "the papers" you mean the one you so conveniently placed on the bottom of the pile?" I ask her.  
  
"Good, you noticed," she says. "What'd you think?"  
  
"I really don't know her at all, so have you captured her yet?" I ask my loving mother.  
  
"You think we should?" she asks me, asking for my opinion was something she had taken a like to, almost to see if my actions were ones that would benefit the organization.  
  
"Yes, I'll interrogate her and see if she's a double," I inform her. One of my best talents was interrogating and getting information out of people.  
  
"Sounds great, oh, and your father is in town," she says, dropping the bombshell in a quick phrase.  
  
"So that's who was tailing us," I say.  
  
"He was tailing you?" Irina says, getting nervous.  
  
"Don't worry, Andrew totally lost him," I inform her.  
  
"Of course," she says and sighs a breath of relief.  
  
"So, what are you going to do?" I ask her.  
  
"I wasn't too sure yet," she says, walking around the room. "Should I capture him? Or wait to see if he does anything?"  
  
"If he tries to contact me, I'll bring him in," I tell her.  
  
"Fine, that's a first step, now, make sure to get Mr. Sark up to speed, okay honey?" she says. That was the one thing that bugged me, she refused to call Andrew by his first name. Maybe if we get married she will, but I doubt she will.  
  
"Is everything ready for tonight?" I ask Irina.  
  
"Of course, is your dress ready?" she replies in question.  
  
"Oh, it is. You're going to love it."  
  
"I can't wait, now we must run along, the meeting should be starting soon," she says, and we both walk out of my office and head to the conference room. I enter and I see that Andrew is already there in his seat. It is customary that my mother sits at the head of the table and I sit to her right and Andrew sits next to me.  
  
I take my seat and pull out my briefing materials and the meeting begins as usual.  
  
  
  
  
  
**JACK POV**  
  
I keep driving around, hoping to see some building that might resemble the world headquarters for the most deadly international espionage organization. No such luck appeared on my side, so I headed back to my hotel.  
  
When I walked into the lobby, I saw my contact there. She sat in a chair and I knew that Irina owned everything in this town. We couldn't talk here, so I wrote on a piece of paper to meet and the park in a half hour. As I walked passed her, I dropped the paper into her lap and she recognized it.  
  
I checked in, and headed up to my room.  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
As soon as we all dispersed from the meeting, Andrew followed me out and pulled me into his office. We leaned into a kiss and he pulled away a second.  
  
"Let's have lunch in the park," Andrew says to me.  
  
"What, a picnic?" I ask him.  
  
"Exactly," he claims.  
  
"Did you clear it with my mother?" I ask him.  
  
"She said we could have the rest of the day off to get ready for the party," he informs me.  
  
"Alright, I'll go swing by my office and get my things for the night, and you come pick me up, okay?" I ask and tell him.  
  
"Perfect," he replies and I head out.  
  
Hm. a lunch picnic in the park? Could it be he's proposing? One could only hope.  
  
  
  
We arrived in the park soon after we left and Andrew pulled out a basket with food and such.  
  
"Did we plan ahead?" I ask him.  
  
"Somewhat," he says sheepishly.  
  
I grin at him and we walk arm in arm to a lovely spot in the park.  
  
  
  
  
  
**JACK POV**  
  
I entered the park, and very much to my surprise, I saw Sydney and Sark there as well. I placed myself behind a tree in which I could see them very carefully. I pulled out a pen I had in my pocket that would pull their voices from a distance and took out a headphone so I could listen to their conversation. If I could get them on tape talking about the organization, then I could nab them and lock them up forever.  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
We both had finished our lunch and were both relaxed. I was lying against Andrew and we were just admiring the beauty of the situation. Any passerby could never imagine who we really were. I was sitting motionless for a few minutes, just watching the flowers and trees sway.  
  
"Sydney," he whispers into my ear.  
  
"Yes, love," I reply back into his ear.  
  
"Your beauty, your love, your intelligence, your wit, you make me complete. Waking every morning to your shining face makes my world so much more bright," he starts. This could be it.  
  
"Sydney, I would be honored if you would take me as your husband, for forever, to share our wonderful lives with," he says, pulling out a beautiful diamond ring.  
  
"Yes, of course," I tell him and we start kissing affectionately. We end up on the ground, lying together making out like a bunch of teenagers.  
  
"I love you," I tell him.  
  
  
  
  
  
**JACK POV**  
  
I could hear his British voice come through my headphones ever so clearly, "Sydney, I would be honored if you would take me as your husband, for forever, to share our wonderful lives with."  
  
He was proposing to her? Just my luck. Normally, if we were normal, he would have had to ask my permission to marry her. Probably asked Irina her permission and she probably praised him, figuring they would continue the organization and make it stronger than ever.  
  
I had to stop them, I had to capture them. I wonder how Irina would feel if I were to capture her beautiful trophy assets. So, I took my gun and started towards them. It was now or never.  
  
  
  
~~Reviews make my day! Leave one or two with a few thoughts~~ Masquerade 


	2. Becoming the Prisoner

Author's Notes: Thanks for all the great reviews! Here is chapter two. a little S/S and a little S/V towards the end. enjoy, and as usual, reviews are great!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Alias, J.J. Abrams and ABC do.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
We had just finished our kissing when I felt a gun cock on the back of my head. Who was deciding to mess with me today? Obviously some one with a lot of guts.  
  
"Mr. Bristow, how do we owe this wonderful honor?" Andrew asked him.  
  
"I thought I would finally get the chance to meet the infamous Sydney and Mr. Sark," he replies to him.  
  
"You know, I would appreciate if you would mind getting your gun away from my fiancée," Andrew tells him. When he said the word, fiancée, it made me all giggly inside for one minute, then, I snapped back to reality.  
  
"You know what? I think I'll keep the gun right here," he tells Andrew.  
  
"What can we do for you, Mr. Bristow?" I ask him, using the name as a weapon.  
  
"Well, I thought you two would like to accompany me back to the CIA Headquarters," he informs us.  
  
"As much as we would enjoy that, I think we're going to have to pass," Andrew says.  
  
"I don't think you have much of an option here," Jack tells us.  
  
"I think we do, personally, and if there's one thing you should have known before walking into this town, it's that everyone here works for us," I say, before watching as a group of 5 or 6 agents swarm in and grab him. I knew my mother had planted a bug on the basket so she could see the proposal, and got more than she wanted to hear.  
  
After they had successfully gagged and tied him up, we both packed up our picnic stuff and headed towards the car, hand in hand.  
  
"Well, that was certainly an eventful afternoon," Andrew tells me.  
  
"My favorite part is the part where you ask me to marry you," I say to him, playing with him. He stops us for a second.  
  
"Wow, I love you," he tells me when we end up face to face.  
  
I lean in and we start kissing again, when my cell phone begins to ring.  
  
"Go figure," I mumble and pull it out of the case that was attached to my hip.  
  
"Sydney here," I always answer.  
  
"I need you both back to HQ ASAP," my mother's voice rings through the phone.  
  
"Okay," I reply and hang up.  
  
"Your mother?" he asks me.  
  
"We got to go to HQ," I tell him.  
  
"Alright," he says, sighing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We both waltz out of the executive elevator and head straight towards my mother's office. It was at the end of the hallway and the most heavily guarded. We make the turn together and a few employees give us the traditional nod in recognition, always trying to suck up to the bosses. We make it to the end of the hallway and the guards let us into her office.  
  
"Sydney, Mr. Sark, I'm so glad you were able to make it here fast," she begins.  
  
"What can we do for you mother?" I ask her.  
  
"Well, first of all, I've got Jack locked up downstairs, and I'm assuming Sydney, you won't mind doing a little play with him?" she asks.  
  
"Not at all," I say cracking a grin.  
  
"Second of all, the CIA has decided that Jack's visit here was a valid one and they have decided to send a team here to try to locate our business. Oh, I almost forgot, Congratulations you two," she adds in at the end. We both crack a grin at that, then go back into spy mode.  
  
"So, what's our plan?" I ask.  
  
"First, I've informed all that the party's off for tonight, but I've rescheduled for next week," she says.  
  
"Alright," we say in unison.  
  
"Then, we need to be prepared. I want to take them out, to send a message to the CIA to never mess with me again," she states as her strong Russian accent comes through in the accented words.  
  
"What would you like us to do?" Andrew asks her.  
  
"You'll be in here, in safety. There's only one way up here, and that is by the main elevator that we will be shutting down," my mother informs us.  
  
"Are we using the usual plan for an attack against us?" I ask her.  
  
"That's the idea. From the mission specs that I hacked from their site, I was able to garner that they were only sending a team of twenty or so," she adds.  
  
"You have the mission specs?" I ask her.  
  
"Yes," she says and hands us a packet of information. I open it up and the first thing I see is the picture of the team leader, a Michael Vaughn. He looked familiar.  
  
"I recognize this man," I tell her.  
  
"I thought you might, I believe you ran into him two years ago in Berlin," she tells me refreshing my memory.  
  
"That's right," I say.  
  
"Well, you two look over the information and don't leave this floor for now. I'm having supplies brought up here and we'll be able to survive for at least a month if need be," my mother says. Whenever she gets in power mode, she becomes graceful and has such life and meaning in her work. It's rather amazing.  
  
We both walked back to my office, since it was the larger of the two and I had a nicer couch and relaxing area. We walked in and I noticed that Sarah wasn't there. It was customary to have the assistants leave in a situation like this. So, as we walked in, I closed the door and we walked into my area.  
  
"Some day, hasn't it been?" I ask him as he wraps his hands around my waists.  
  
"It certainly has taken a turn for the worst," he replies, cracking a smile. We lean in and kiss and pull away and place our stuff down by the bottom of my desk.  
  
"You should shut your blinds," he tells me.  
  
"I almost forgot," I add, heading over to. I look out and notice there was not as much activity as normal on this time of day.  
  
We settle down on the couch and pull out the information my mother had given us to look over.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"This information looks staged," I finally blurt out.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asks me.  
  
"You know how we placed that information on our one server last year so the CIA would purposely see it?"  
  
"I recall that slightly," he adds.  
  
"Exactly. I think this is what this is. The CIA would want us to have a head start, but I think they altered some of the information. I don't think there's going to be 20 men. I think they'll bring 200," I say, finally ending my theory.  
  
"See what you're mother thinks. She'll know," he tells me.  
  
"Alright," I reply, getting off the couch and heading to my desk and calling her private extension between herself and I.  
  
"Yes, Sydney?" she answers the phone.  
  
"I think the info is placed. I think they wanted us to see this," I tell her.  
  
"What? Like last year and the server?" she asks referring to my example.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"I'll look over it again, but I'm not too sure if the CIA would be smart enough to do that," she tells me.  
  
"Alright," I say and we both disconnect the call.  
  
"I don't get it, you have a private line from you to your mother and we don't have a private line to each other," he complains as I sit down.  
  
"We'll get one," I tell him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As nightfall began, we both headed out to the conference room. A buffet of food had been set up and we started getting our plates for dinner. I filled mine with a Chinese food selection along with some fruit. I was heading towards the exit with Andrew tailing behind me when I heard my mother call out.  
  
"Sydney, Mr. Sark, how about you join me for dinner?" she asks.  
  
"Of course, mother," I reply to her. All the other workers I could see roll their eyes. They knew never to mess with the combination of my mother and I, and now, with Andrew being a part of the family, they would be even more afraid of us.  
  
We followed my mother back into her office and her waiter brings us some drinks. We sit down around her table and begin casual conversation as we eat on our different foods.  
  
"I looked over what you had suggested Sydney, but I couldn't find any more evidence to support it," she tells me.  
  
"I know, I might just be overacting. When should I go visit Mr. Bristow?" I ask her.  
  
"Wait until the CIA is done with their stupid mission. I don't want you off this floor for safety," she tells me.  
  
Andrew and I are holding hands under the table and are both nervous about tonight.  
  
"So, enough of this business, don't we have a wedding to plan?" my mother announces.  
  
"Yes," I say, adding a sheepish grin.  
  
"Where would you two like to be wed? Anywhere in particular?" she asks us.  
  
"We really haven't had a chance to think of a place. but I've always thought about doing it in Sicily," I say. Andrew shoots a glance over at me. He knows exactly why as well. It was the place in which we started dating and admitting our feeling about each other. We had taken a boat out and ended up kissing under the stars. It was the most magical night ever.  
  
"I think that could be arranged," my mother adds in.  
  
"Sounds perfect," Andrew says.  
  
"In the spring? Or Summer?" she asks.  
  
"As soon as possible, so I think this summer," I tell her.  
  
"Anxious?" she asks.  
  
"Yeah," we both respond in dreamy eyes.  
  
By that time, we had long finished our dinner and started to move the plates to be cleaned. We migrated to my mother's personal bar in her office and each took a glass and took a drink. We finished quickly and then decided to have Andrew and I return back to my office.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The mission specs claimed they were moving it at 10:30. It was 10:29 as I looked at my watch and waited for any suspicion that they could be around. I heard noises and looked back down at my watch, 10:30. I lay in Andrew's lap on the couch and we didn't move. We stayed in our spots, hoping that this little charade would end soon.  
  
I could hear shots being fired from downstairs, but no sign of to really what was the action happening. We stayed in my office for what seemed like ages until the real action started happening.  
  
At first the phone rang, so I ran over and answered it.  
  
"Sydney here," I answer.  
  
"Sydney, they're coming. I don't know how, but they've made it through the elevator. You were right. They're 200 of them," my mother's old voice comes through the speaker.  
  
I drop the phone and signal to Andrew to get up. We start though the offices and head to the passage that was installed incase anything like this was to happen. As we almost make it, I hear a shot ring out and Andrew falls to the ground.  
  
"No!" I scream and lean down to his side. I lean over and notice he was shot in the back of his stomach area. He was bleeding a lot.  
  
"Sydney," he squeaks out in the middle of gunshots. "I love you, now go, and be saved."  
  
"No," I say and start sobbing on top of him. No, no no no no. This couldn't be happening to me now. It was supposed to be a victory for us. I felt as someone pulled me off as I was in between sobs and handcuffed me. I couldn't even respond to them because of the state of shock I was in. I watched as he shut his eyes and breathed his last breath. They pulled me away and escorted me out to their van. I was in shock the entire time. I gave up all life.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When I finally woke up, I took in my surroundings. I was in a cell of some sort, a very nice cell at that. The CIA. Them and their liberties, so they actually treat their prisoners pretty good. I look around and it's glass walls on three sides and an actual brick wall on the third. A bed, a toilet, a sink, nothing special. I peruse the hardware, one camera in the center of the ceiling and one in each corner. Standard. I got up and did a few stretches to get my muscles working again when it hit me.  
  
I looked down at my hands. His blood was still on them and I turned over to my ring finger and it was gone. They took it. I could see the impression of where it would be. I looked down at myself. I had aged in the short period of time. Instead of my trendy clothes and expensive jewelry, I was lined in plain navy pants and top.  
  
I heard someone coming, and remained in my position. The man, the one in the picture, I believe his name was Michael Vaughn entered in front of me.  
  
"I see you've woken up," he states.  
  
"That would be the case," I answer him.  
  
"This is the deal," he starts. "Either you help us, or we try you for treason and give you the death penalty."  
  
"Wow, giving me quite the polar opposite options there, aren't you Mr. Vaughn?" I ask him.  
  
He is taken aback that I am aware of his name, so I continue, "Didn't you ever learn to know everything about your friends, and enemies?"  
  
"I know you're trying to be clever with me here, Ms. heck, what should I call you?" he asks me.  
  
"Sydney is my name," I inform him. "But, I would think you would already know that?"  
  
"You don't have a last name?" he asks.  
  
"I have one, but I choose not to recognize it," I tell the man.  
  
"Alright, so do you agree to help us?" he asks again.  
  
"What do you mean by "helping you"?" I ask.  
  
"First, you will debrief us with all the intel on the organization and anything else we see fit, second, when necessary, you will assist us in any day to day issues that might occur," he states as if it's straight from a textbook.  
  
"Wow, so I get to give my life away to you fools and then stay here and be your little helper? Sounds like a deal," I mutter.  
  
"So, it's that, or you go to jail and stand trial for treason against the United States, in which I know they would have no problem giving you the death penalty," he informs me.  
  
What do I do?  
  
"Alright, before I decide, I need to know one thing," I start.  
  
"Okay," he says.  
  
"Is my mother alive?" I ask him.  
  
He stares at the floor, wondering if he should tell me or not. I read his body language and I could not gather from just that the answer I want to know. He looks up and his pupils become smaller. He was going to lie to me whenever he opened his mouth.  
  
His eyes become wide and I know he speaks the truth when he says, "Yes, she died in the raid. You're the only one we got."  
  
I kept examining his body language and could gather that indeed he was telling the truth. So, I was the only one they got. All right then, I'll help the fools.  
  
"Okay," I say to him.  
  
"Okay what?" he asks.  
  
"I'll help you fools," I add in.  
  
He smiles as if he's won the situation, and I just turn and go back to my bed. I was starting to like this guy, he kind of got to me in some way. 


	3. Divulging the Knowledge

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews, they have been really encouraging. To SassyAngel05 - I know, I can't believe I actually killed Sark too. If they ever did that on the show I might go into depression for weeks! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**Sydney POV**  
  
  
  
The guards led me into a small office. I waited as they re-handcuffed me to the metal chair in my hands and feet. I looked around and it appeared it was going to be round one of see how much I know. The agent, Vaughn, he walks in followed by a few other men. A taller, older one sits down at the chair in front of me.  
  
"Alright, as you have been made aware, part of your agreement is that you give us all intel on the organization that we demand and cooperate fully in all matters, understood?" he says.  
  
"Yes," I say, sighing, admitting defeat. "Wait, I do have one request."  
  
"I don't think you should be asking for requests," the older man says.  
  
"If it turns out all I have provided you with is true and you are pleased, will you return the ring I was wearing back to me?" I ask him.  
  
"We'll see," he says in a serious tone and I could tell that Vaughn was taken back by the request.  
  
"Shall we begin?" the man asks.  
  
"I'm ready," I add in.  
  
He starts with the heart stopper, "What is your full birth name?"  
  
I pause before answering, "Sydney Ann.."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"..Bristow."  
  
The men around perk up at the comment, obviously not aware of the situation of my bloodline. I found it awkward, why the CIA wouldn't know? Unless my father never told them I was his daughter, since in the intelligence world I was just viewed as "Sydney."  
  
"Where were you born?" he asks.  
  
"Los Angeles, California," I inform them.  
  
"And your parents are?"  
  
"Laura Bristow a.k.a. Irina Derevko and Jack Bristow," I tell them.  
  
"Alright, good start," he mutters and writes some notes down on his pad.  
  
"I'm sorry, I've got to ask. You knew that, right?" I say bluntly. "Because honestly, if you didn't.."  
  
"What we know and what you know are two separate things and will not be conferred upon," the now very anal old man tells me.  
  
"Okay then," I say, sitting back.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
And it continued on and on. For hours, they took down my first hand accounts on everything, from the missions we went on to storage facilities, to safe houses, to employees, to everything. It was getting tiring and they seemed to keep dragging the questions on and on. Of course, on my side, I had left tid-bits out here and there for my security. Plus, if my mother was alive and Vaughn lied very well, she would be in some of the places I didn't talk about.  
  
"What would you say your relationship was with your partner, Mr. Sark? And does he have a first name?" the old crazy man (I started calling him crazy about an hour in) says to me.  
  
I stop a second, and take a few good breaths of air in. "We, we had just gotten engaged that day."  
  
The men in the room all perk up at that comment.  
  
"Really? Care to, say, elaborate?" he says.  
  
"On what? The fact that we worked together like no others and we had chemistry more powerful than any love in the world and I loved him very much." I say with all my energy and start crying.  
  
I could tell they had shut up for a moment and let me actually absorb my life right now, but I couldn't be vulnerable, so I jerked my head up a second, "And his first name? It was Andrew. But only I called him that. Everyone else, including my mother, called him Mr. Sark."  
  
"Alright, that's fine. How about we call it a day and we talk more tomorrow?" he asks, obviously feeling a little guilty after my sudden outburst.  
  
"Sounds good," I add in.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Marshals led me back to my "cage" and I saw the Agent Vaughn behind me. Sitting there, I had remembered where and what had happened when I was on the mission in Berlin.  
  
I got in my cell and he goes up to the window.  
  
"I know you," I say to him.  
  
"I know. I just realized it as well," he says, barely a whisper.  
  
"Your face, it looked, so familiar," I say.  
  
"And yours, I could never forget such a beauty," he says, as if he was in a fairly land alone.  
  
Something was going on between us, we just had this weird feeling about another. I had a feeling he was going to be my only savior through all of this.  
  
"Well, I have to go," he says, turning to head out.  
  
"Wait," I start. "I don't know if you heard me talking with the old man, but."  
  
"Your ring," he says.  
  
"Yes," I sigh.  
  
"I'll do my best," he says with a smile. Why was he being so trusting of me? It was rather interesting. I walked back to the brick wall of the cell and started my stretches. All that sitting down really got to me.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I had been sleeping on my wonderful hard bed when I heard the gates rise and footsteps, of a man, a powerful man, since he seemed confident in his step. I perked up to see who this mystery man could be.  
  
"Hello Sydney," he says.  
  
"Well, look who it is," I reply.  
  
"Nice seeing you so soon again," Jack adds.  
  
"Can't say that the excitement is returned," I inform him.  
  
"You are your mother's daughter," he mutters under his breath.  
  
"And there's something wrong with that?" I ask him.  
  
"Among other things, yes," he adds.  
  
"I see your cooperating with the CIA very nicely," he starts.  
  
"I'd rather not be killed, thank you very much," I tell him.  
  
"You have no one left, that's why you did," he says, getting into my business.  
  
I stare at him with my cold stare and stay mute.  
  
"That's why, isn't it? Since your mother and your precious Mr. Sark are both dead, your dead to yourself. They were your only chance of busting out of here, and now, that chance is shot," he says, getting more powerful and loud with every word.  
  
"ENOUGH!" I scream and stand back a second.  
  
He stops and watches for me a second with his judging eyes. I pull forward and lean against the glass.  
  
"You have no right to be my judge of character, what, if Mom hadn't taken me with her you would have raised me? Yeah right. She was a better parent than you ever could have been. You would have just left me at home, with a nanny. Don't think I don't know what happened to you after we "died". You drank excessively and even spent some time in jail. Mom was all I had, and yes, I followed in what she did, but heck, it was way better than what you could have given me," I say, finishing with a higher pitch and walking backwards. I turn around quickly and wait for him to leave before I turn back around. Score, Sydney 1, Jack 0.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I was sitting on the group with a book of poems they graciously gave me to read in my spare time I had now. I heard him coming and it was actually a sigh of relief.  
  
"Hello Sydney," his gentle voice says to me.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Vaughn," I say to welcome him as I stand off the floor.  
  
"Ready for round two?" he asks.  
  
"Don't have much choice, do it?" I ask.  
  
"About your ring.." He starts.  
  
"Yes?" I perk up at the few words.  
  
"Here," he says as he opens up the box and hands it in.  
  
"It's been checked for everything, etc, etc. They researched your information and it was all true," he informs me.  
  
"Thank you so incredibly much, Agent Vaughn," I say to him and give him a small smile. "It means so much to have this back."  
  
"What was it?" he asks.  
  
"It was my engagement ring from Andrew," I spit out. "We were only engaged for one day."  
  
I look at the floor sad at the thought again.  
  
"It's very pretty, here come the Marshals," he says, as two guards enter and unlock my door.  
  
"Thanks again," I say as they open the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
They lead me to the office I sat in for hours yesterday again today. More fun was in store and I couldn't wait to see what else they had to question me on.  
  
"Hope you had a nice good night's sleep," a new, younger man says as he walks in and sits in the chair.  
  
"Not exactly the most comfortable bed," I mutter.  
  
"Anyway, I'm going to start off today with just some basic stuff we didn't cover yesterday and we'll easy into some more of the in depth items," he explains.  
  
"More fun for me," I say.  
  
"Alright, how about, could you tell me what languages you are fluent in?" he asks. Easy question, now remembering them all is the hard part.  
  
"Okay. well, there's French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Russian of course, hm.." I pause, waiting a second trying to recall what else. Should I tell them my biggest secret?  
  
"And. I speak like one tribal language from Africa, not very well, and well. I can actually speak the language of Rambaldi," I tell them, giving away my biggest secret of all.  
  
"Excuse me?" the man asks as he partially chokes on his water.  
  
"Yeah, I learned it a few years ago," I tell him like it was nothing.  
  
"So, if I were to place a manuscript in front of you, you could speak and understand it the same as any other language?" he asks curiously.  
  
"Basically, yeah," I reply.  
  
They all sit back a moment and try to process the information. I watch as another man comes over and whispers something into the new interrogator's ear. I sit back and just watch as they praise the land I worship on now.  
  
"Okay," he says once the other man leaves.  
  
"What else you have for me?" I ask him.  
  
"We were actually interested in learning about the computer system you had set up," he starts.  
  
"Yeah, it's a pretty good system. And let me guess, you want me to tell you how you can access it right now," I add.  
  
"Basically, yes," he says.  
  
"Well." I start. "So, when we knew we were under attack, our head of computer resources puts the system into a safe mode. Under this, only 4 people know codes to put the system back into operational mode."  
  
"I see," he says and nods.  
  
"And each of the four has a different code, so when the system is returned to normal, it records who did it."  
  
"Good, now, do you know the code?" he asks me.  
  
"That would be a yes," I answer.  
  
"Who else does?" he does a follow up question.  
  
"My mother, Andrew did, and the head of Computer Technical Services, Anthony," I inform him.  
  
"So, if we got you a computer, we could bring the system back up to normal?"  
  
"I could, but the only thing is, you have to prove to me that the remaining three are dead. Because if they are not, they could have already moved all the system to our secondary server, that I don't know the current codes for, and if they did and you try to access it from an outside computer it will destroy the network that computer is on," I explain.  
  
"Wow, some kind of fail-safe," he says in awe.  
  
"Basically," I say with a grin. I was so proud of our network that was for sure.  
  
"We have confirmation that both Irina Derevko and Mr. Sark have been killed, but this Anthony guy, we don't know about him," he says.  
  
"He was at another location when you raided our headquarters," I tell them. "That's why I won't do it. He probably heard about it and transferred all the info already."  
  
"How about we move on for right now, and we can find out more information and get back to this subject at a later time?" he asks me.  
  
"Sure," I add in.  
  
It was amazing how willing I was to share my information with the CIA. Maybe my father was partially right. Wow, I just called him my father. I mean, I'd rather have the CIA know than K-Directorate or some other rogue agency.  
  
The interrogation went on, asking about weapon sales, donors, banks we used, even to past enemies and friends. I answered their questions without hesitation and found it relieving to get all the information off my chest. It was almost as if I were leaving it behind as I said each thing.  
  
After it seemed to be twenty million hours, I heard three men bust open the doors with something. They whispered something into the interrogator's ear, and then he nodded. The ringleader of the three, a short man with black hair, sat in his chair.  
  
"You claim to be able to converse and understand Rambaldi's language," he says.  
  
"Yes, I can," I add.  
  
"Here, decode this," he says and opens up a folder that held one of the Rambaldi papers.  
  
I look over it and realize what it was.  
  
"You have to be kidding me," I say.  
  
They all look at me, "What?"  
  
"I've been looking for this paper for years, and all along you had it," I say in defeat.  
  
"What do you mean you've been looking for it?" the sitting man asks.  
  
"My mother and I have been putting all of Rambaldi's inventions together to create his great invention, and we were missing the dimension codes that were located in this paper," I explain to them.  
  
"Well, what does it say?" the taller man of the three asks.  
  
I scan over it, and start decoding, "Well, this corner is just fluff he always puts in, about how his family is doing, and this corner, is the weather forecast for. let's see, May 7th, 1768, and then, here it is. The code, it's a series of numbers, length, width, height. Yep. All here. And wait, what's this."  
  
I stop a second and read over what it says before telling the stupid CIA what it says. It was in Rambaldi's second language, in which I only held the code key for. It was for his most secret messages. It read, "Two people will unite, under unforeseen circumstances that will keep them apart. Their love will bind them together and they will destroy my ultimate work in protecting the world from its strong powers." I kept reading and it said, "The woman will be the relative of the woman that will bind my works with fury as stated in the first journal 47th page."  
  
That was me. I knew that for sure, which had to mean, who was the man? And I was to destroy all of our work?  
  
"Well, what does it say?" they ask in stutter. Obviously, they hadn't decoded it and wanted to know it. I wasn't about to tell them what it read. I had to have leverage.  
  
"I'm not really too sure, it uses Rambaldi's second code, which I'm only a little bit familiar with. Here, this word is unite," I say, pointing to the word on the paper. "And this word, is world."  
  
They seemed sad that I couldn't use my great powers to tell them the answer. I wonder if anyone could tell I was lying. I was too good of a liar. No one would have.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I was returned to my cell and I was greeted by a visitor a short time after.  
  
"I know you were lying," he says.  
  
"When?" I ask.  
  
"You know when. I've jammed the audio for a minute, they won't hear anything, so explain fast," Vaughn says.  
  
"He says that two people will come together under difficult situations and their love will cause them to destroy the ultimate work of Rambaldi that would cause the world to no longer exist. He said it was the relative of the woman pictured on page 47 on his 1st journal," I say as fast as I can.  
  
"And that woman is you," he shoots out.  
  
"Yes," I add.  
  
"Alright," he says.  
  
"Are you going to tell the CIA?" I ask him.  
  
"Not right now," he says. "You can speak Rambaldi's second code?"  
  
"Yeah," I say and sigh.  
  
"Well, I thought you might like to know that because of all the valuable intel you've provided, they are considering letting you stay at a safe house," he informs me.  
  
I look up, "Seriously?"  
  
"I know, but it would be a small one with CIA agents heavily guarding it at all times," he explains.  
  
"Anything's better than this measly cell," I tell him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next day they must have figured they'd give me the day off, since there were no interrogations. I wonder what was left they could pry out of my mind. I mostly pondered the information I had gathered from the manuscript and had to wonder who the other person could be.  
  
Andrew? No, it couldn't be. It says we will destroy the invention. That reminds me, they haven't asked me where it is. It would be difficult explaining to them the location, considering it's in the barren cold on the plains of the Siberia in Russia. Heck, without my mother I doubt I could find it.  
  
I heard the soft footsteps approach and realized it was my new CIA friend, Agent Vaughn. Could it be him? Brought together by difficult circumstances? Very possible. I just don't see how it could work out though.  
  
"I brought you lunch," he says and pushes the meal through the box.  
  
"Thanks," I reply to him.  
  
"It's better than that other crap they give you," he says.  
  
"Wow, that's awesome. Time for a break," I say with a smile.  
  
"You aren't playing me, are you?" he asks very bluntly.  
  
"Honestly?" I reply to him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I couldn't play you if I tried. After our encounter in Berlin, I've always remembered you. You were the best man I've ever had to seduce. I always remembered you," I tell him.  
  
"I was such a young agent then," he says, reflecting on our encounter before.  
  
"When it came time for me to steal the disk, I almost couldn't for once," I say, admitting my weakness.  
  
"In other news, they've agreed to move you to a safe house," he says, pulling us back on task.  
  
"Seriously?" I reply, perking up to the comment.  
  
"Under one condition, you divulge the location of the storage of all your Rambaldi artifacts," he says.  
  
I pause a second before I continue, "See, that might be a problem."  
  
"What kind of problem?"  
  
"They're located in an old missile silo in the plains of Siberia in Russia. Heck, I don't even know how to get there without my mother. I can give you the general coordinates, but your own your own there," I tell him.  
  
"Alright, at least that's a start," he says.  
  
"Plus, you wouldn't be able to enter without it blowing up anyway," I add in under my breath.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asks.  
  
"Only my mother's voice ID and fingerprint could open the facility."  
  
"Alright," he says. "Thanks for the intel, I'll be back later."  
  
I watch him as I leave and I have to ponder, he has to be the one. The one that will help me to destroy it all. If they only knew what powers it held.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~Reviews are great inspiration! Thanks for reading!~ Masquerade 


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